Tony Awards... - A low-key season?

[paperboy]

I have the Original British Cast recording of Billy Elliot, which is good but not great.

The score is the worst thing about it; I came out humming the choreography.

[Reza]

Neil Patrick Harris is hosting. Yay!

Doogie Howser, M.D......to think I would watch this religiously. LOL.

[Big Magilla]

Nothing much to get excited over for me.

I have the Original British Cast recording of Billy Elliot, which is good but not great. I've only listened to the first half of Next to Normal, which is well done but very, very depressing. I'm not familiar with any of the new plays.

Maybe the show will perk up some interest. We'll see if Angela walks or runs to the podium if/when her name is called and how well Jane smiles when she loses.

[paperboy]

predix

MUSICAL: Billy Elliot the Musical
PLAY: God of Carnage
REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL: Hair
REVIVAL OF A PLAY: The Norman Conquests

LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, Kiril Kulish - Billy Elliot the Musical
LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Alice Ripley - Next to Normal
FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL: Will Swenson - Hair
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL: Hadyn Gwynne - Billy Elliot the Musical

LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY: Geoffrey Rush - Exit the King
LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Marcia Gay Harden - God of Carnage
FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY: Roger Robinson - Joe Turner's Come and Gone
FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY: Angela Lansbury - Blithe Spirit

DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL: Stephen Daldry - Billy Elliot the Musical
DIRECTOR OF A PLAY: Matthew Warchus - The Norman Conquests

ORIGINAL SCORE: Tom Kitt, Brian Yorkey - Next to Normal
BOOK OF A MUSICAL: Lee Hall - Billy Elliot the Musical

SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Ian MacNeil - Billy Elliot the Musical
SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY: Derek McLane - 33 Variations

COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Tim Hatley - Shrek the Musical
COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY: Dale Ferguson - Exit the King

LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Rick Fisher - Billy Elliot the Musical
LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY: David Hersey - Equus

SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL: Paul Arditti - Billy Elliot the Musical
SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY: Gregory Clarke - Exit the King

CHOREOGRAPHY: Peter Darling - Billy Elliot the Musical
ORCHESTRATIONS: Martin Koch - Billy Elliot the Musical

SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT: Liza's at the Palace



Edited By paperboy on 1243997805

[anonymous1980]

Neil Patrick Harris is hosting. Yay!

[Okri]

You don't like Buried Child?

Oh Christ, worst piece of crap play I've ever been subjected to.

Well, maybe Children of a Lesser God was worse, because I left that at intermission but endured the Sheperd in its entirety.

Heh. I read it when I was twelve and didn't get it, but knowing it won the Pulitzer I assumed I was just too young and meant to reread it. Still haven't.

[Damien]

You don't like Buried Child?

Oh Christ, worst piece of crap play I've ever been subjected to.

Well, maybe Children of a Lesser God was worse, because I left that at intermission but endured the Sheperd in its entirety.

[Big Magilla]

I think this is the first time they've nominated more than one player for alternating a role. Usually in such cases they give the nomination to the one who played the part on opening night a la Clamma Dale in the acclaimed 1976 revival of Porgy and Bess.

[Okri]

Well, that's silly. Okay, replace the first production of Virginia Woolf with Doubt.

I didn't think Radcliffe was that well loved, but I think he would've been ignored based on the fact that he's Harry Potter.

The producers need to petition for special placements like the trio, and I don't think they did for the other guys. Stupid, offensive, but that's what I think happened.

I don't think the Tonys bug me as much as they do you for two reasons. One, I don't see the shows involved so I don't have a major horse in the race (even if I act like I do because I have been rooting for this production of Mary Stuart for a long time). And secondly, by ignoring off-Broadway, I have a hard time getting worked up about it.

They seem to be all right with revivals of already gone shows (Big River, Amour) so no nods for The Seagull was really surprising. It's in the big categories that these things matter.

You don't like Buried Child?

[Damien]

Joe Turner is Wilson's 11th Broadway production (nine originals and two revivals) and ALL have received acting nods, and only one missed out on a best show nomination (the Ma Rainey revival). He's pretty much my God, so I wanted to note that.

How often has the entire cast been up for a Tony? Two productions of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (the original Hagen-Hill and the Turner/Irwin revival).

Actually, for some reason George Grizzard wasn't nominated for the original production of Woolf.

He and his Honey, Melinda Dillon, were reunited a few years later in Robert Anderson's You Know I Can't Hear You When The Water's Running

[Damien]

I gave up on caring about the Tonys when The Producers won everything in sight. Okay, I could deal with the fact that a show I found juvenile, tedious and witless was a huge crowd pleaser and would win the major awards -- but when the damn thing won for its merely serviceable sets and lighting, and Mel Brooks' disposable score beat the first-rate Full Monty it was too much to bear. That night the Tonys became completely irrelevant to me. And it was the final nail in the coffin which had been put in the hearse when Victor/Victoria was maliciouly and ridiculously snubbed. I think it's a great musical, but even if one doesn't, the sets and costumes (which were not nominated though some piece of Sam Sheperd crap was) were something to see, and Rachel York and Tony Roberts received spectacular reviews. **** the Tonys.

It's is a shame, because when I was younger in the 60s and 70s, they were mostly spot on. But even prior to travesties of The Producers and Victor, these awards were so noisome because they so highly favored currently running shows over ones that had shuttered. Daniel Radcliffe received the most wild approbation of any actor this year, but Equus is gone. Same with Kirsten and The Seagull. And the theatre community ADORED [title of show] but that closed in October. The score for 13 was truly memorable -- witty, fun and a marvelous mix of Broadway and rock. It wasn't always this way. In the early 70s Marian Seldes was nominated for Father's Day which closed after one performance, and Donald Pleasence was cited for Wise Child which, if memory serves, played for 4.

And if the three Billy Elliots are grouped as one, why did these idiot nominators anoint Featured Actor David Bologna, when he alternates the role of Michael with Frank Dolce?

At least Michael Grief was nominated for directing Next To Normal. He's a close friend of my Beloved's and a very sweet guy.

[Okri]

Joe Turner is Wilson's 11th Broadway production (nine originals and two revivals) and ALL have received acting nods, and only one missed out on a best show nomination (the Ma Rainey revival). He's pretty much my God, so I wanted to note that.

How often has the entire cast been up for a Tony? Two productions of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (the original Hagen-Hill and the Turner/Irwin revival).

Dirty Blonde - 3 (one leading lady, two featured men).
Twilight: Los Angelos, 1992, Freaks, I Am My Own Wife - 1

I think four's the maximum, and I'm pretty sure this is the first time all have been considered leads.

[paperboy]

I think Rush will still take it; if there's one thing you can't miss with his acting (especially on stage), it's THE ACTING.

I'm surprised the very praised performances of Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin and especially John Goodman in Waiting For Godot were overlooked.

Trivia: Billy Elliot now ties The Producers for the most nominated show.

[dws1982]

Most surprising omission to me: Aaron Tveit for featured actor in a musical (Next to Normal).

I think his snub has to do with the fact that he had announced before the show opened that he was leaving early (as in, before the Tonys) to do an out of town run in the lead role of Catch Me If You Can, which they're hoping to bring to Broadway next season.

And there have been cases over the years when a major critics' favorite for a not-beloved show has been upset in the end by someone less acclaimed but more generally "popular".

Would David Hyde Pierce over Raul Esparza a couple of years ago be an example of this? Company did win the Revival award, but it seemed like people didn't really like it all that much, while Pierce's show was a easily digested crowdpleaser.

And you're absolutely right about Kristin Scott Thomas, Mister Tee. It's insane (yet kind of understandable) the way the nominations automatically favor shows that are still running. Strange to consider that she would've had a better shot at a nomination in a weak season, even though her performance was one of the most acclaimed of the season.



Edited By dws1982 on 1241549599

[Mister Tee]

I wasn't too surprised about Kristin Scott Thomas (although I also thought she would be nominated) since her production closed so long ago, and since the category had so many whose shows were still running,

.....

I know I had declared him the winner several weeks ago, but I'm wondering about Rush now.... I wonder if his show may be a bit too out there for the voters, and if they'll go another direction when they pick a winner.

The Scott Thomas thing is why I think the Tonys are often more corrupt than the Oscars, though they rarely get trashed the way AMPAS does. Can you imagine if the Oscars had left off Julie Christie or Marion Cotillard last year, simply because their films were alreday in DVD by the time of nominations? Maybe I'm misremembering, but my impression was Scott Thomas' reviews for Seagull were leagues ahead of either of the God of Carnage actresses.

Forgot to note that Desire Under the Elms was roundly ignored.

As far as Rush, you may be correct. Ionesco has never exactly warmed the hearts of sporadic theatre-goers (though Rhinoceros did manage to secure Zero Mostel a Tony way back when). And there have been cases over the years when a major critics' favorite for a not-beloved show has been upset in the end by someone less acclaimed but more generally "popular". I don't have time to look up recent examples, but one that sticks in the memory is 1984, when Kate Nelligan's Moon for the Misbegotten widely hailed by critics, lost to the more viewer-friendly Glenn Close in The Real Thing. I'd say Gandolfini might be the Close of this go-round -- though it's possible Jeff Daniels' long-time devotion to theatre (including his Purple Rose Theatre in Michigan) will be rewarded.

When I read that Nine to Five's script was essentially Xeroxed from the film, my interest in seeing it dropped to near-zero. Just because the film was a hit in its day shouldn't delude anyone into thinking it was any good.